Page 14 of Bitten By Desire (Crooked Point #1)

Sunday

“Stop it, Emma, you’re freaking me out,” Zoey said.

“I know vampires are supposed to just suck your blood. But maybe he’s bad at getting clean bites. His teeth are surely strong enough to rip flesh if they can bite right through it.” I pictured the mauled hand.

“Seriously, stop it.”

“And that’s probably why he left his coaching position. When I ran into him his eyes were perfectly golden. He probably ate one of the players at the party right before I ran into him!”

Zoey looked as freaked out as me. “But…vampires don’t exist, Emma.”

“But what if they do? And what if Callum is one?” I wasn’t even sure if I believed it. But the more I spoke, the more logical it seemed.

She pressed her lips together.

“It would explain everything. Why he suddenly left the team. Why he lived in that creepy old house. Why he deleted those pictures of himself from my camera. Why he’s pretending to be someone else now.

Why he’s so pissed that I know who he really is.

You should have seen him last night in the maze. He was so angry.”

“You think he’s worried that you’re going to unveil his secret identity to the whole town?”

I nodded. “I think he wanted to kill me last night to keep me quiet. He told me to stop calling him Callum. And when I didn’t…he said, ‘I tried to warn you,’ and he looked right at my neck. The only reason he didn’t go through with it was because Bennett showed up and scared him off.”

Zoey’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God, Emma. He bit your neck when you first met him. Or…sucked it. Or whatever. You had a hickey for weeks. Remember?”

“Yeah.” Of course I remembered. I touched the side of my neck. “He also bit my finger so hard that it bled. I’d thought it was an accident, but...” I swallowed hard. “What if it wasn’t?”

Zoey looked so freaked out.

“And he said something else that first night. That he was surprised I didn’t scream. He seemed thrown off by it.”

“Emma, what if he was about to kill you that night? And what if he was about to kill you last night too?”

The floorboard on the step creaked and Zoey and I both jumped. I grabbed her arm as I turned toward the front steps. Fuck.

There was a man in a fitted suit standing there. The umbrella masked his face. But I knew who it was. Because I was suddenly extremely cold.

He slowly lowered the umbrella.

And Callum was standing there. No. Not Callum. Theo Gold. For the first time, it seemed like maybe Theo Gold was telling the truth about not being Callum. Because today his eyes weren’t gold. They were a striking brown.

“Are you ladies here for the open house?” Theo Gold asked .

I heard Zoey exhale and then she laughed. “His eyes aren’t even gold, Emma,” she whispered and stood up.

Yeah…but…they had been last night. And when I ran into him on Main Street on Thursday.

I knew they had been. I would have been worried that they were just getting darker because he was hungry.

But he seemed very calm today. And they weren’t a dark brown.

They were a warm, medium brown. The hue would have been comforting if I wasn’t so confused.

“Hi, I’m Zoey,” she said and walked over to the devil himself.

“Theo Gold,” he said and put his hand out for Zoey.

She glanced back at me for just a second before turning back toward him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. And I think you know my friend Emma already. From just a couple of days ago.”

No, from ten freaking years ago when he fucked me and disappeared!

He nodded and his gaze finally fell on me. But he didn’t greet me. He just stared.

How were his eyes brown? How?

“Emma’s looking for a house,” Zoey said.

Theo Gold didn’t look at her. His eyes were still trained on mine. “You’re thinking about moving here?”

I didn’t respond. I just stared at his eyes.

Was he maybe wearing colored contacts? To throw me off?

I knew he was Callum. I knew it and yet…

he didn’t look like Callum today. I shivered.

I was still shaken from how he’d talked to me in the maze.

And I had the oddest sensation to stand up and run as fast as possible.

“Yes, she is thinking about it,” Zoey said. “Right?” She looked at me and gave me a hard stare .

I really wasn’t considering moving here. For years I’d been obsessed with Callum. And now I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. He was playing tricks with my head. And I had no idea why. I cleared my throat and stood up. “No, not really. We were just looking for fun.”

“Okay, well…feel free to come in and look around. For fun,” he added. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He held it open for us.

I really did not want to go inside. It was pouring and I was worried no one else would be coming to this open house this afternoon.

The idea of being alone with Callum again like I had been in the maze last night terrified me.

But Zoey had already stepped in. And I wasn’t going to let Callum suck her blood.

I walked into the house, hurrying past him.

The more distance between us the better.

I tried to think of what warded off vampires. I needed a wooden stake or something. I looked around for a weapon, but I got distracted by how beautiful the house was.

“Is this all original molding?” Zoey asked.

“It is,” Callum said. “The house is in great condition. But I’ll be honest…the bathrooms and kitchen are a little outdated. With the right owner though, this place could be modernized in no time.”

“And I bet that means it’s a great price.”

“It’s definitely a fair price.” He handed her a listing.

Zoey smiled. “Emma, this place is perfect for you.” She handed it to me.

Nope. This was still too expensive for me. But…I did kind of love it. I walked over to the window seat in th e living room. I could picture editing photos here while staring out at the yard.

“I’m going to go check out the bathroom situation. To see if it’s dire.” She hurried off, leaving me alone with Callum.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as he stepped toward me.

“I owe you an apology, Emma,” he said.

So now he finally remembered my name? I wanted to ask him if he was apologizing for last night or for ghosting me ten years ago. But I was scared to anger him again.

My eyes met his. And maybe I was imagining it, but I swear I saw a light circle around his irises.

Where the white was slightly off. Maybe he really was wearing contacts.

To hide who he truly was. I used to dream of his golden eyes.

But that wasn’t the only thing that captivated me.

It was everything about him that made me gravitate to him.

I felt myself leaning closer, remembering how good his lips felt on my skin.

I had a feeling I’d know I was next to him even if I was wearing a blindfold.

He drew slightly closer and my throat made a squeaking noise.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked.

“Should I be?”

He lowered his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Did you see anything in the maze last night?” I knew I was crazy to bring this up. But I couldn’t help it. I needed to know what he was capable of.

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like…body parts? Or someone suspicious?”

“No.” His eyes searched mine. “Did you? ”

“No.” I said it too defensively.

“Did you ask your boyfriend these same questions, Emma?”

I swallowed hard. “What exactly are you implying?”

“You seem scared of me. When he’s the one you should be worried about.”

“Do you even know Bennett?”

“Do you?”

I pressed my lips together. No, I didn’t. Not really. But I didn’t think Callum knew him either. “Are you wearing colored contact lenses?”

He smiled. “And why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. I think your golden eyes are beautiful.”

He didn’t respond to that. He just drew even closer to me.

Wasn’t his silence confession enough? I should have wanted to slap him. Or stab him in the heart with a wooden stake. But I felt my eyes gravitating to his lips again. God, would I ever be able to erase the memory of him from my head? Would I ever stop being drawn to him? Wanting him?

He reached out. For a second I thought he was going to touch the side of my neck. Instead he ran his finger down the strap that held my camera. I looked down. His thumb had stopped on where it was knotted.

“Why don’t you replace this?” he asked.

I could tell he remembered ripping it. I could tell he remembered all of it. He wasn’t asking why I wasn’t replacing some random broken thing. He was asking me why I kept hold of a memory linked to him. “Because it reminds me of one of the best nights of my life. ”

His hand fell from the strap. I thought he’d take a step back from me, but he didn’t. “Let me take you out,” he said.

“What?” I’d dreamed of this moment for years. But…not like this. Not when I was worried he had a secret worse than loving one night stands. And he thought I had a boyfriend. No, Bennett and I weren’t technically dating. But Callum didn’t know that.

“To make up for last night. My way of apologizing.”

“I…I can’t.”

“Because of your boyfriend?” He looked very amused by the thought. “Trust me, Emma, he wouldn’t mind sharing you for one evening.”

“Excuse me?” What the hell did he mean by that?

He just smiled at me. “Does 7 o’clock work for you?”

“No.” I wasn’t going out with him. I wasn’t trying to die tonight. “If you were sincere about apologizing, you would have already said you were sorry. But I haven’t heard those words leave your mouth.”

“I’m not one to grovel.”

“Then you can go screw yourself.”

“Oh, I’d much rather screw you.”

I went to slap him, but he grabbed my wrist.

“I’ve already warned you not to do that again.”

I swallowed hard as he leaned closer to me. He was looking at me the same way he had in the maze last night. But I wasn’t as scared of him in the light of day. Probably because I was more aroused than anything else. What was wrong with me?

“The pictures didn’t do this place justice,” Zoey said as she walked back into the room.

I jumped back from Callum .

“I’m actually in need of a new photographer,” he said, his eyes traveling down to the camera around my neck.

I stared at him. Why? Because you ate the last one? I wasn’t going to be next.

“Oh my God, this is perfect!” Zoey hurried over to us. “Emma’s a photographer and she’s looking for a job in town.”

Was she trying to get me killed?!

“Is that so?” Callum asked. “Well, how perfect. Maybe I can interview you tonight over dinner. Say, my place at 7?” He smiled at me, knowing he was about to get exactly what he wanted.

“No,” I said at the exact same time Zoey squealed and said, “She’ll do it.”

I stared at her. His place? Had she forgotten everything we’d just talked about outside? Callum was a fucking blood sucking vampire! Why did she want me to be alone with him? I cleared my throat. “I can’t tonight. We have plans, Zoey. Remember?”

“No we don’t. Emma’s completely free. She’ll be there.”

What is wrong with you?! “No, we have that thing .” I stared at her, hoping she’d read the expression on my face. But she wasn’t looking at me.

“Surely you need to eat regardless,” Callum said.

Zoey nodded.

Shit. It didn’t seem like either of them were going to let me get out of this.

“Here’s my address.” Callum pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card. I looked down at the name Theo Gold on the card. It had his address. And his phone number. It was all the information I’d been dying for. But I didn’t want it anymore. Not like this. Not if it cost me my life.

“Great,” Zoey said. “And she’s the best photographer ever. You’re going to love her work.”

“I have no doubt.”

A couple walked into the house.

“Bring your camera tonight, Emma,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” He walked over to the couple. But he looked over his shoulder at me while they were talking to him.

I was so screwed.